During my course at the Coady International Institute, I had the pleasure of sharing the classroom space with several Ghanaians. Upon hearing my idea of a locally run chocolate social enterprise in Tanzania they were excited to share an inspiring story of a Ghanaian chocolate company.
Ghana is a world leader in the chocolate industry as it produces an average of 70% of the world cocoa. A vast majority of this is exported, but the Golden Tree is a Ghanaian company that works with local cacao beans and creates valuable finished products! Please check out their website for more information and even order some for a gift:) It is an excellent example of the potential to add significant value to a raw product.
I am still searching for research on this company. The daily life of a cacao farmer in almost all producer companies is challenging. Most do not receive a price for their product which can allow them to break out of poverty. I would be interested to learn how The Golden Tree buys from their producers. Are they able to offer fairer prices? What are the work conditions for the employees of the cacao company? Was it difficult to start-up a chocolate production company in the context of Ghana and what challenges did they overcome as well as what supports were they able to leverage?
The Golden Tree – Ghana Chocolate
Wow – this is awesome! (and especially great that Ghana also qualified for the next round of the World Cup!) Chocolate and soccer…what more could a country want?!